Slump in passenger numbers at Gatwick and Stansted
Passenger numbers at BAA airports fell 10% in the first three months of 2009.
According to the company’s first quarter figures, Gatwick and Stansted saw numbers drop by 14.6% over 2008.
Heathrow was more resilient, with numbers down 6.4%.
BAA’s pre-tax losses grew to £316.2 million from a loss of £55.6 million in the same period last year, while revenues rose 15.5%.
The group partly blamed depreciation in value of Terminal 5 for the losses.
The poor performance was also blamed on the recession, heavy snow in early February and the absence of Easter in the first three months this year.
BAA said the long-haul market continued to perform better than the overall market, with reported long-haul traffic down 8% to 9.4 million passengers.
Reported European passenger traffic declined 10.9% to 13 million with weakness in both scheduled and charter markets.
Domestic traffic continued the recent trend of being the weakest
traffic segment, declining 12.6% to 2.4 million passengers.
BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said the results were in line with expectations “in the most difficult economic circumstancesâ€.
“The rest of the year will be difficult and will present more challenges but our focus remains on raising service standards and maximising efficiency,” he added.
BAA said it would be making an announcement with regards to the sale of Gatwick in the next few weeks.
Reports in the weekend’s business press said three rival bidders for Gatwick have offered around £1.4 billion.
BAA owner, Ferrovial, had hoped to get £2 billion for the airport.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt